WASHINGTON, DC, March 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nike, one of the most recognized brands in the world, announced today that it will no longer use kangaroo skins for its Nike Tiempo and all other shoes starting in 2023. Following a similar announcement by Puma two weeks ago, it means that two of the biggest buyers of kangaroo skins are exiting the deal of funding the world’s largest land mammal slaughter.

“Nike’s announcement to stop using kangaroo skins for its athletic shoes is a seismic event for wildlife conservation and tremors will be felt around the world, particularly in Australia, where the mass commercial slaughter of kangaroos is taking place.” , said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Center for a Humane Economy, which announced its 2020 “Kangaroos are not shoes” campaign to encourage ending the use of kangaroo leather in football boots. “Fabric that isn’t based on animals is athletically and morally superior, and in March we saw two of the top three athletic footwear brands commit to ending the use of kangaroo skins and bringing relief to these iconic marsupials in Australia.”

Nike today announced in a statement that it will release a new Tiempo Legend Elite that is made without kangaroo skin, a trend reversal for the company’s premier football boot. “The upper has a new material that represents a better performance solution, replacing the use of kangaroo leather.” The statement went on to say that Nike “will stop making products with kangaroo leather in 2023.”

Nike and Puma do without kangaroo skins and rely on synthetics, which confirms a trend that has existed for years. Of 172 goals scored at last year’s World Cup, 164 came from players wearing synthetic boots or traditional leather (although synthetics dominated).

“These two announcements represent a massive victory for the Center for a Humane Economy and its ‘Kangaroos are Not Shoes’ campaign,” said Natasha Dolezal, Senior Legal Advocate for the Center for a Humane…